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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly #16: Hershey Hits Midpoint of Season

January 27, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2021-22 season, presented by Penn State Health, with a pair of games this weekend. Saturday's game versus Bridgeport officially marks the halfway point of the campaign, with Hershey sitting just a hair off the Atlantic Division lead heading into the latter portion of the season. The Bears, who have made national headlines in the past week for setting another world record during the club's GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, host the Islanders on Saturday at 7 p.m. before visiting Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 20-12-3-2

Standings Position: 2nd in Atlantic

Click here for full AHL standings

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Joe Snively (15)

Assists: Joe Snively (23)

Points: Joe Snively (38)

Power Play Goals: Garrett Pilon (5)

Shorthanded Goals: Joe Snively (3)

Plus/Minus: Joe Snively (+22)

Wins: Pheonix Copley (11)

GAA: Pheonix Copley (2.58)

SV%: Pheonix Copley (.903)

RECENT RESULTS:Saturday, January 22: Hershey 5, Hartford 0

The Bears earned a 5-0 win in front of a sold out crowd of 10,514 last Saturday. The game was Hershey's GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, and the club collected a world-record 52,341 stuffed animals for over 25 local organizations as part of the team's Hershey Bears Cares program. Forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored the teddy bear toss goal at 6:13 of the first period, and the forward added a pair of goals in the third period to complete a hat trick. Brian Pinho and Joe Snively also scored for Hershey, and Pheonix Copley finished with a 23-save shutout. Hershey outshot the Wolf Pack 36-23 on the night.

Sunday, January 23: Hartford 3, Hershey 2

The Hershey Bears dropped a hard-fought 3-2 game to the Hartford Wolf Pack last Sunday at GIANT Center. Joe Snively and Mike Vecchione scored for Hershey, and the Bears outshot the Wolf Pack 26-19, but Justin Richards provided the game-winner for the visitors at 17:14 of the third period. The loss snapped Hershey's home point streak at eight games (6-0-1-1).

Tuesday, January 25: Hershey 6, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2

The Bears opened this week with a 6-2 win on home ice over rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hershey scored six unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0 after 20 minutes of action. Garrett Pilon, Marcus Vela, Christopher Brown, Kale Kessy, and Joe Snively (2) scored in the win for Hershey. Pheonix Copley stopped 26 of 28 shots and Hershey improved to 8-1-0-0 versus the Baby Pens in the season series.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

-Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Bridgeport, 7 p.m.

PSECU Knit Cap Giveaway (First 4,000 fans)

-Sunday, Jan. 30 at Lehigh Valley, 3:05 p.m.

Tickets available at HersheyBears.com via Ticketmaster

Video Coverage: AHLTV, Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TV Coverage (Saturday): FOX43

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

WORLD RECORD TEDDY TOSS:

At last Saturday's GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, Hershey set a new world record, collecting 52,341 stuffed animals. The mark smashed Hershey's previous record of 45,650, set Dec. 1, 2019. All stuffed animals have already been distributed to over 25 local organizations as part of the club's Hershey Bears Cares program. The can't-miss event gained attention all over the world, earning media coverage in over 40 countries, plus in 49 states in the USA. Media hits have come from major news outlets such as ABC, CBS, and FOX, plus coverage on ESPN, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and from online media sources such as Yahoo, MSN, Barstool Sports, The New York Post, and the NHL. E! News and Instagram's official @instagram account are set to provide additional coverage later this week.

HE JUST KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING:

Forward Joe Snively can't be stopped at GIANT Center. With two goals in Tuesday's win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Snively now has points in 14 straight games in Chocolatetown. He's scored 21 points (10g, 11a) in the streak, which dates back to Nov. 14. Snively has tied Hershey's longest home scoring streak on recent record, posted by Alexandre Giroux during the 2008-09 season. Giroux had 23 points in a 14-game home scoring streak from Nov. 15, 2008-Jan. 24, 2009. Snively leads the Bears with 38 points (15g, 23a) in 35 games this season, ranking third in the AHL in scoring. His plus/minus of +22 is the best mark in the league.

STICKING AROUND:

Over the past week, the Bears have handed out a pair of AHL contracts to players already on the roster. Both Drake Rymsha and Marcus Vela joined Hershey from the ECHL on professional tryout agreements initially, and both played themselves into AHL contracts for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. Rymsha has seven assists in 27 games this season with the Bears, collecting a career-high 54 penalty minutes. Vela has scored three points (2g, 1) in just seven games with the Bears.

A CHRISTOPER BROWN WINNER:

Forward Christopher Brown scored his first career AHL goal in Tuesday's win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The former Penguin burned his old club, finally scoring the inaugural goal of his AHL career in his seventh game with Hershey, and his 26th AHL game overall. The marker stood as the game-winner, making him the second Bear this season (Marcus Vela, Dec. 29, 2021 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) to have their first AHL goal be the deciding tally.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey holds the top spot in the AHL in attendance, averaging a league-best 7,389 fans per game...The Bears are tied for the league-lead in shorthanded goals with eight...Axel Jonsson Fjallby's hat trick last Saturday was the first of his AHL career, while Pheonix Copley's shut out that night was the 15th clean sheet of his AHL career...Jonsson-Fjallby has points in three straight games (3g, 2a) and points in five of his past six outings....Former Bear Ryan Sproul is among a handful of players with ties to Hershey that are slated to play in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Sproul has been playing for Kunlun Red Star, a Beijing-based KHL team, making him eligible to represent China in the Olympics.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2022


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